Abengoa and Silvermet to Build Two New Steel Dust Recycling Plants in Turkey

Befesa, the industrial residue recycling division of Abengoa, a renewable energy and clean technology provider from Seville, has announced it will invest $120 million in a joint venture project with Canada’s Silvermet to build two new steel dust recycling plants in Turkey.

The plants will have a combined 200 tonne capacity when running at full capacity. Each year they will convert 110,000 tonnes of steel dust into 80,000 tonnes of Washed Waelz Oxide; a product rich in zinc. The plants are expected to be completed in the second half of 2014.

Abengoa has announced that “the The facilities will be designed and operated using the safest and most environmentally-friendly technologies in order to recycle steel dust, a hazardous waste generated in production of steel from electric arc furnaces, and therefore minimizing land-filling. Today the production of this waste in Turkey is approximately 500,000 tons per year.”

M. Ilker Ayci, president of the Investment Support and Promotion Agency of Turkey (ISPAT), said that the “investment is very important not only for bringing technology, creating employment, and contributing to Turkey’s export; but also contributing to the environment.”